Tesla owners in Boston and Chicago are getting new Superchargers designed specifically for cities

Supercharging is a tremendous perk of Tesla ownership. The company’s cars can be recharged quickly using the fastest available charging at nearly 400 locations in the US.

In about an hour a depleted Tesla vehicle battery can be restored to full charge; Supercharging used to be free for all Tesla owners, but recently Tesla has begun levelling a fee for new owners who buy a Model S or X vehicle, if they exceed a yearly credit cap.

Tesla doesn’t want owners to use the Supercharger network for daily charging. It was designed to eliminate so-called “range anxiety” and to enable owners to travel long distances in their cars. But the company recognises that not everyone has a garage where a slower charger intended for overnight rejuicing can be installed.

So on Monday, Tesla announced the rollout of new, urban Superchargers in Boston and Chicago; Beantown will get eight stalls, and the Windy City will get ten.

“As part of our commitment to make Tesla ownership easy for everyone, including those without immediate access to home or workplace charging, we are expanding our Supercharger network into city centres,” Tesla said in a statement.

“Supercharger stations in urban areas will be installed in convenient locations, including supermarkets, shopping centres and downtown districts, so it’s easy for customers to charge their car in the time it takes to grocery shop or run errands,” the company said. “They also have the same pricing as our existing Superchargers, which is far cheaper than the cost of gasoline.”

The new Superchargers have a more compact design than the existing units, but according to Tesla, they can recharge at the same pace.

“Superchargers in urban centres deliver a steady 72 kilowatts of power, even if another Tesla begins charging in an adjacent stall,” Tesla said. “This creates a consistent, predictable charging experience with an average Supercharging session lasting around 45-50 minutes in city centres.”

Tesla also said that the new Superchargers have a “post” design to conserve space in more crowded urban environments.

The carmaker — which is on the verge of a massive uptick in ownership as it begins delivering on roughly 500,000 pre-orders for its Model 3 sedan — provided details in a blog post.